State of Education in Tanzania, Crisis and Opportunity

Summary:
The State of Education in Tanzania:
Crisis and Opportunity:
A Handbook with Facts and Figures.
PREFACE

Education is not a way of escaping the country's poverty, it is a way
of fighting it. Mwalimu
Julius K. Nyerere

A proud past: Tanzania can claim to be one of the few countries in
Africa which has a history of a successful education system and which
has mobilized the willingness of its people to make basic education
work. In the 1970s, the government faced a great challenge: To
provide access to primary education for every child. After declaring
the Musoma Resolution in 1974, the government set out to implement
Universal Primary Education (UPE) afid launched a nationwide
campaign, for the construction of new primary schools. 'Following the
UPE campaign, school enrollment tripled in ten years. This initiative
was successful because of the will and receptivity of the people. It
was also linked to the Arusha Declaration of 1967 and the Peasant
African Socialist System which espoused principles of unity and
village solidarity. One of the ideas that emerged was a plan of
action enabling rural children to learn and carry out productive
activities useful in their daily lives. The intention was to help
schools be self-reliant and the plan of action was integrated into
the curriculum. At the peak of the UPE drive, Tanzania had achieved a
gross enrollment rate of 98% for primary education. To the country's
great credit, gender differences in piimary enrollment were almost
negligible.

Persistent problems: Despite these major achievements, there has been
a noticeable decline in the education sector which has led to the
existing deplorable conditions in schooling. A major constraint to
the implementation of the UPE programme was the hasty training and
deployment of teachers to the schools. This resulted in a large
majority of teachers who were not qualified enough to teach in
classrooms. Now, after twenty years, only three out of ten teachers
are actually trained. Another factor contributing to decline was the
nature of the curriculum itself. Despite attempts at a relevant
curriculum, the education that children received did not equip them
with the kind of skills or values needed to cope in their rural
homesteads. It did not lead to the employment of the majority of the
children while, at the same time, it introduced new expectations that
couJd not be realized. Children tended to become alienated from their
own social and cultural roots. Over the years, the prevailing low
quality of education and the low transition rate to secondary level
has made parents lose confidence in the education system. A root
cause of many of these problems has been the rigorous and socially
unjustdemands on national budgetary policy made by the Bretton Woods
institutions.

Far-reaching reforms: Taking stock of this situation, the Tanzania
Government since late 1996 has been preparing policy andfar reaching
educational reforms in the country. Known as the Education Sector
Reform and Development Programme (Ed-SDP), it is comprehensive and
multifaceted, addressing a range of issues from upgrading teacher
qualifications to
decentralizing decision-making. Major donors played a foundational
role with the government in shaping the programme design and
priorities. In the final stages of its formulation, international and
local NGOs in Tanzania were invited in March 1999 to join a formal
appraisal of the Ed-SDP to date which included about fiftyb experts.
kuleana participated as the representative for local NGOs in the
country.

Kuleana's viewpoint: From the appraisal, three significant views
emerged which are of primary importance:

a) There was a negative response among government officials and lead
experts to the idea that child rights as espoused in the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child should have been the basis for
the formulation of the Ed-SDP, providing
inspiration, innovation and guiUance to the work.

b) The learner, the child, was absent in the reform, which was
largely organizational and systemic, ignoring the need for the
learning-centred approach so well documented in pedagogical research
over the last 25 years. Also, the absence of a recognition of the
pivotal role of early childhood education is, in itself, disturbing.

c) Plans have been developed largely on the assumptions of external
consultants without including local knowledge and views. The dearth
of information and the distance between the office desk and the Shi
Kome fire in the village has, over so many years, made the
educational debate more rhetoric than reality.

Regarding the two first points, kuleana realizes its work ahead
should be to advocate for child rights and the need for a child-
centred learning approach which emphasizes the quality of the
relationship between teacher and child. Attempting to address the
third point, kuleana has launched a series of Community Dial6gues as
a model for seeking the advice of and listening to people's concerns.

This report is a description of a national crisis. While steps are
underway by government to address it, solutions will only be set in
motion if the issue is clearly slated as a national priority and is
allocated the budget required. Long-term solutions will need to
elicit authentic engagement with and empowering of communities, to
ensure that the curriculum is relevant to rural livelihoods and to
concretely promote the equal access of girls to education.

This report is also a bridge, spanning a gap in information and
bolting together the scaffolding for a way forward. The bridge would
not have been constructed at all if it were not for the vision and
initiative of Rikesh Rajani, co-founder of kuleana. Making the vision
a reality 'has involved nany individuals within kuleana and outside
of it who have comrritted their energies and concern, bringing
materials to the site, researching, writing or editing drafts. The
report is the result of this collective endeavour. If there are any
mistakes or errors of omission these remain kuleana's responsibility.

Acknowledgements are due to many: Since its inception more than two
and a half Y years ago, many more pages have been written than those
appearing. Mustafa try. Kudrati, Sabas Masawe, Ron Pouwels, Esther
Obdam, Barnabas Solo and Rakesh
Rajani were enthusiastic participants in the three original planning
meetings. The ~'tich first major literature research was undertaken
by Ron Pouwels and Marissa Wilkins. Additional research was done by
Gitte Robinson of UNICEF and Rakesh Rajani who, together, did a major
part of the writing. Kabura Katalyeba did the initial statistics
research which was carried further by Gitte Robinson and Rakesh the
Rajani. Final reference checking of statisitics was patiently
performed by Mustafa
Kudrati, Gitte Robinson and Rafikiel Mdoe.

Following his retirement from kuleana, Rakesh Rajani finalized the
drafting of this report as a consultant to the project. Substantial
editing was then undertaken by Mary Plummer, Ron Pouwels and Esther
Obdam. Maimuna Kanyamala and
Mustafa Kudrati did the final typesetting of the statistical section.

Many individuals and organizations contributed a wealth of useful
materials. We wish to thank and mention A. Nestory, Primary Education
Programme, Mbeya; UMATI (Tanzania Family Planning Association); Jeff
Makongo, MS-Tanzania; Mary Nsemwa and Joshua Kyallo, SCF-UK;
Augustine Agu, Jesper Morch and Gilbert Tyabji of UNICEF; Felistas
Lyaro, Head Teachers' Centre, Moshi; Janet 'Haddock, Consultant.
Throughout, UNICEF's consistent support was a great encouragement,
contributing both the expertise and worktime of its personnel. The
patience and tenacity of our staff members and outside helpers have
carried this roject successfully into its cover illustrated by two
youth, Jonathan Nataniel and Maziku Bahati, representing the children
who were the focus of it all.

We thank them all and welcome the reader and user, hoping you will
find our effort worthwhile.